Saturday, April 16, 2005

Well, Dave Gassner pitched today, and surprisingly, he pitched quite well. He pitched six strong innings, giving up two runs, but only one of them earned from Nick Punto's error at second, while striking out one and walking one. For the kind of pitcher Gassner is, that is the best we can expect and is the kind of start we need from our starters not named Santana. He had good control, keep his ball down, and pitched the kind of game he is capable of doing well. Now that is something Kyle Lohse needs to learn how to do and fast.

Hopefully, Gassner leaves an impression on the club because it is likely we will need a pitcher again in the future and a decent left-hander who can start would prove useful to the club. And of course, if Gassner does fail in his next start, we always have Baker waiting in the wings. But for now, congrats Dave Gassner. Your first major league start was much better than expected and that's a great thing for the Twins. We may yet win this series in Cleveland.

In a minor note, Lew Ford, now playing defense, is looking very good offensively as he hit a three-run home run off of Cleveland starter Kevin Millwood. Its good to see his bat come alive and that Gardy is playing him in the field more often. And Terry Mulholland got through the seventh without many problems, but I still would rather see our Romero-Rincon-Nathan combo. Its just so effective and fun to watch cause for once we have the best in the bigs!